Disclaimer: I do not own Riot Games and its creations.
"All things must die… and yet I live on. And we all know 'you only live once.'" –Mordekaiser, the Iron Revenant
"Sickness sustains me!"
The League of Legends was an organization that aimed to settle political conflicts in a systematic way. However, as much as how it was designed to settle conflicts, denizens of Valoran found the matches that the League held to be rather entertaining. It took very little time to calm citizens about the fact that an Institute of War had been built. Being a rather new organization compared to other ancient "peaceful groups," the Institute was impressive in the sense that it did show clear effects.
The idea of waging war to settle political means became unviable, skirmishes became less frequent, and the common death rate decreased considerably. Clearly, the Institute's presence was a significant one, and it made sure to flaunt it to the countries of Valoran to discourage lethal rivalries.
The Institute itself served more as a shelter for the League's champions. In fact, many champions found the Institute more comfortable than their own homes. Other than the entertaining matches held, the champions spent their times happily. But there was one problem.
The champions were always locked up in the Champions' Break.
At one point, summoners began to swarm around champions to the point where they had to escape. A particular mummy received an injury due to the sheer amount of people inside the Mess Hall, which served as a call of retreat for the others. While their absence did bring serenity in the Mess Hall, Break Room, and various other places, however, the champions decided to cling to the Champions' Break as much as they could. Thus, the League of Legends drew greater interest due to the rarity of the champions' appearances.
Yes, the building containing these champions were pretty rowdy compared to other places.
But one champion was missing… A champion that had been long forgotten. And this champion was also the reason why some matches could not start at all.
"Face it. This is a battle your holy knights cannot prevail over the undead!"
The very champion that had been banned in so many games to the point where nearly everyone forgot about him.
"It's useless! My necromancy is so great, your holy armor is gutter trash to me!"
The very champion that could confidently eat Ezreal, the Prodigal Explorer, for breakfast.
"MWA HA HA HA! TIME TO SHRED!"
Mordekaiser.
Mordekaiser was no ordinary champion. He had set up a record for not showing up to a single League of Legends match for six straight months. Rumors claimed that Viktor, out of all champions, had to prevent Luxanna Grownguard from being cooked in an iron pot; losing one of the League's brightest champions would have caused an outrage within the fans, after all. Though injuries in the League of Legends healed quickly, they were not the same outside of it.
He was the Iron Revenant. The Master of Metal in so many ways. Not even Vladimir could slither out of his iron grip when he snapped. In fact, six months had soothed his mind with the help of video games. Controlling a legion of undead in a video game was the least he could do to satisfy his urges without ticking off some sensitive bums.
"Eat this! That! Those! These! Everything and everyone shall kneel before my wrath! Ha ha ha!"
Contrary to popular belief, however, something about this Master of Metal felt was not well-known.
"Take that, you shining nincompoop."
He acted quite human.
People settled with the idea that he was a dead man. After all, living men would normally not get the idea to shove Lulu into a closet filled with dead piranhas. He had a beating heart, which was the reason why he was alive. He had skin; he was not a hollow shell. His heart was certainly not the purest, but his mind was definitely not that dumb.
There was also the fact that his past was a bit hazy. He remembered some details, but he concluded that the parts he could not remember were insignificant to him. After all, who needed a past if they could destroy futures in video games?
Putting down his GameMace controller down, which actually resembled Mordekaiser's weapon of choice, the Iron Revenant leaned comfortably on his couch made of stainless steel. To him, the new life he granted to himself was heaven. He could practically roll around the entire place without having anyone think that he was trying to do something drastic.
Then, he heard something knock on a door.
Mordekaiser's eyes jerked open, revealing two red glowing slits in the fairly dark room. Only the television light made things less eerie.
Did someone just knock on the door? He thought. Actually, that wouldn't make sense. It's probably a hiccup the stupid Institute made.
Something knocked on the door again.
That also meant that it knocked on Mordekaiser's annoyance.
Bolting up from his sofa, he stormed up a long staircase towards an iron door with heavy footsteps as he slammed it open. In front of him was a male summoner who wore purple robes. Though parts of his face were concealed by a hood, the other parts showed his fear. Mordekaiser summoned Nightfall, one of the more sophisticated maces he had, as he grabbed the summoner by his collar.
"You only need to knock ONCE, fool! What could it possibly be that made those wretched magi send you down my basement?!"
"I-Uh-Ah-P-Please!" The summoner screamed in terror. "Please let me go! I'm too young to die! I have important news! I-"
"You seem pretty damn fond of a particular vowel, summoner. I this, I that… Speak clearly, you bumbling fool! Shut up and summarize your message in ten words!"
The young summoner gulped before thinking of a way to summarize his message. A few seconds was all it took before he blurted out,
"The Institute wants you to attend the next Rift battle!"
"…The Institute, huh…"
Mordekaiser lifted the summoner closer to his face as his deathly red eyes glowed brighter. "Tell me, summoner; why would they summon me, the Master of Metal, the lord of legions, the Almighty Iron Man to one of their petty games after leaving me alone for such a long time?! Did they not grant me freedom?!"
"T-There is another reason they sent me! I swear, it's important!"
"And what is so important that sent you down to my paradise?!"
"THEY WANT YOU TO MOVE IN WITH THE OTHER CHAMPIONS!"
"Wha-?!"
Move in with the other champions?
Weren't they as insane as he was?!
Sure, they may not have been as violent as him, but they were supremely annoying to hang around with. Not only were they weak, but they aggravated him far too much to earn his sympathy. Being bottled up with such rats…
"U-Umm… are you alright… s-sir?"
"GUARGGGGH! THAT'S MASTER FOR YOU!"
Mordekaiser's mace smashed into the summoner, causing the boy to fly straight out of the deep basement painfully. He would live; that is, if he could withstand major injuries. The very fact that he put a safety spell on his own mace was already humble on Mordekaiser's part.
In a rampage of insults and complaints, the lord of undead decided not to leave. Oh, he would see how far the Institute of War would go to drag him out.
Just wait, he thought grouchily. Tomorrow, they're probably going to bring in a bunch of mages to forcefully drag me out of my basement.
And so, the lord of undead decided to wait it out.
Day 1
It turned out that Mordekaiser was a prophet of his own despair.
As the door to his basement was knocked on fervently, Mordekaiser sighed as he took out a machine gun.
Yes, he kept a machine gun in his basement. It had served its purpose as a decorative item well until that very moment.
Kicking the door open, Mordekaiser pointed his machine gun at the elite mages that were sent to bring Mordekaiser to the surface of the Institute. Their eyes widened as one of them quickly blasted a spell at the Iron Revenant's firearm, jamming it effectively. Angered that his decorative weapon turned into an actual decorative item, Mordekaiser threw the firearm on the ground as he raised his fists.
"Come and get some, you f#$%s."
The mages complied well, but it only led to their downfall. As soon as they blasted binding magic at the lord of undead, he took out a pack of Bilgewater bombs he had stolen from Thresh, the Chain Warden, who had stolen them from Gangplank, the Saltwater Scourge, who had stolen them from Miss Fortune, the-
It was a long story.
Taken aback by the sudden appearance of explosives, the mages directed their attentions to the bombs that were thrown to the skies, preparing to push them towards the skies with their magic. Without any hesitation, the lord of undead rushed over and punched the people away from him. They tumbled down the Institute of War like uncontrollable ragdolls as they realized a hospital trip would be necessary for what was to come.
The Master of Metal sighed as he dusted his gauntlets, returning to his lair.
Day 2
A larger group of mages ended up staring at the iron door.
"Go first," one of them urged as an argument of the century began. Knocking on the Iron Revenant's door was no mere game; it held the power to decide whether all of them fell or triumphed over their mission.
After ten minutes' worth of discussing over how they should open Mordekaiser's door, they decided to open the door from a distance. Standing at least ten feet away from the door, one of the mages conjured a fist composed of solidified wind as he commanded it to knock on the door.
No response came from the basement.
He knocked the door again.
Suddenly, the door blasted off of its hinges, flying towards the mages. They were unable to escape, however, for the door increasingly expanded its own size as it approached the men and women sent to bring Mordekaiser to the Institute of War.
The lord of undead snorted as he watched the mages fly away along with his old door. Staring at the now open basement, he decided to leave it as it was just to show how willing he was to drag out the battle in his favor.
Day 3
"Surely, he should have a soft spot for fluffy things," one of the mages from the day before hypothesized as they stood in front of the entrance to the basement. None of them seemed like they wanted to venture down to the dark depths.
So they brought Teemo.
"I'll scout ahead," Teemo said as he scuttled down the endlessly long staircase.
The mages waited for some kind of reaction from the lord of undead, but they were greeted by silence. Forced to stare at the narrow pit of darkness in front of them, they waited.
A series of sound explosions erupted from the basement. Everyone doubted that Teemo had the ability to blow someone up with a dart gun.
A few seconds later, Mordekaiser appeared. He walked up the stairs slowly. When he reached the entrance, he tossed the charred body of the Swift Scout and went back down as if nothing happened.
The mages remained still as they stared at the severely obliterated yordle. Teemo remained smiling, but they all knew that was the same expression he made before he went down to the basement.
To put it nicely, he got wrecked.
Day 4
"Something tells me we're doing something wrong," one of the summoners said. "Maybe we need to find what he likes."
"He likes to destroy things, you idiot." Another summoner responded immediately. "We just need to set up a trap rather than confront him directly."
So the summoners set up a rune trap in front of the entrance. Deciding that they could lure the lord of undead to the trap, one of the summoners conjured an illusion of Teemo and sent him down the basement. He made it so that the Swift Scout would dodge any of the attacks the Master of Metal made. A particularly useful ability for whenever he wanted to snoop about.
As expected, the lord of undead roared when he realized that Teemo somehow became faster than Sonic the Hedgehog. The illusion ran up the stairs as the lord of undead chased after him, obliterating the walls of the narrow staircase with Nightfall as Mordekaiser attempted to flatten the fluffy creature.
Right when he left his basement door, a large rune prison sealed the Master of Metal.
"WE DID IT!" The mages screamed. After a grueling series of trial-and-error, they finally captured the Master of Metal. That meant they could stop doing the horrifyingly annoying mission they were tasked to-
Mordekaiser snapped his fingers, causing metal cages to burst out of the ground around the mages.
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Mordekaiser turned around and slapped the prison rune, instantly breaking the magic around him as he went back down his basement.
The mages simply remained still as they watched the iron man leave.
Day 5
Mordekaiser heard something walking down the stairs. It had been five days since the onslaught of useless attempts to bring him back to the League of Legends had begun. Unfortunately for the Institute of War, he had no qualms on outright rejecting its demands. He doubted that they would get him back to the League by normal means.
Whatever, he thought grouchily as he cracked his knuckles, preparing to summon Nightfall once more. I've survived Four Nights At Morde's. The fifth night should be a piece of cake.
As the sound of the footsteps grew louder and louder, his patience grew thinner and thinner. He wanted to get that stupid sound out of the way and go back to his Dark Souls III session.
And thus, the sound of the footsteps softened when it finally left the staircase and touched the ground of the basement.
Summoning his mace, the lord of undead leapt over his metal couch and raised his weapon over his shoulder, ready to smash the intruder against one of the metallic walls. He would give the Institute of War a painful reminder that he would not comply by their standards.
Through normal circumstances, that was.
In front of him stood an auburn-haired man who grew a small beard and mustache. He was middle-aged, and his light blue eyes were what caught the Iron Revenant's attention.
This man was once his most faithful summoner.
"Mercedes," Mordekaiser muttered as he lowered his weapon. "So this is how it all boils down to, huh?"
The auburn-haired summoner smiled. "Mordekaiser," he said as he stood still. "It's been six months since we met each other."
"Time flies by too slowly," the lord of undead grumbled. "I'm surprised it hasn't been six years. I pretty much completed nearly every video game in my library at the moment."
"Yes, yes," Mercedes said as he nodded. "But Mordekaiser, I have a personal request before we get to anything."
"And that is…?"
Mercedes softly closed his eyes for a brief moment as he opened them again, a small smile still on his face.
"Please don't kill me."
"You're still scared sh$%less of my weapon even after six months of inactivity."
Releasing a sigh he held for quite a long time, the summoner admitted, "Look, even if I became a high-summoner, I don't think any summoner is used to getting flung around by a mace."
"Except you."
"We do not speak of those days, Mordekaiser."
The lord of undead grinned as he relished upon the days he spent with the Demacian summoner. Yes, those were good days: he would talk to Mercedes, pick him up and throw him against a wall, headbutt him repeatedly for not buying him burritos, punch his chin whenever he lost a video game match with him, and most importantly, smash his mace against the summoner's back when he just felt like it.
Mercedes shivered and asked with a somewhat disturbed expression, "Why am I getting a feeling you're having unpleasant thoughts to the human mind?"
"Because I find it pleasant," the lord of undead chuckled. "Simple as that."
"…Anyway, the Institute wants you back because of three reasons."
At the mentioning of reasons, the Iron Revenant grew curious. "And what reasons might they be, Mercedes?"
As he took out a small list given to him by the Institute itself, he recited what the organization told him.
"In the case that champions are left idle for too long, three of the following situations may occur.
"A. They may begin to feel paranoid about summoners not picking them and undergo depression.
"B. They may lose faith in the Institute of War and commit questionable actions.
"And most importantly, C. They may become loners.
"The champions of the League of Legends should, at the very least, avoid becoming social outcasts from a community that has people rooting for them. While most champions display decency to their fans, cases like Mordekaiser's isolation may influence others to be less active in society."
Mercedes put the paper away as he concluded, "And that is why the Institute wants you to return. Mind you that I said Institute, and not me."
Though the Iron Revenant did not care for the Institute's intentions, he did find the lack of League battles to be somewhat strange to him. The reason why he stopped participating in the League of Legends was due to repetition. Everything about the League felt stale after he smashed his mace against the same opponents over and over again. The matchmaking system was terrible in the sense that it constantly pit Mordekaiser against only certain champions. He grew sick of the repetition quickly, because not only did he become too powerful at one point, but the Institute of War actually demanded him to use even less of his powers in the League matches.
Even though he already was holding back.
"I have to admit though, I would prefer having you back at the Rift," the summoner admitted. "It's not every day you can see an iron juggernaut rolling over a bunch of powerful-looking fighters."
The iron man felt into a state of thoughtfulness as silence fell between the two. One of Mordekaiser's primary reasons to leave the League was boredom.
But if he found a solution to cure the boredom, then perhaps bearing with some idiots would be a good deal if his reward was caving their face in again.
"I will think about it," the Iron Revenant decided.
Mercedes cracked a small grin. "I will be looking forward to tomorrow, then."
As the high-summoner left, Mordekaiser sighed. He turned to the television screen that lit the dark room.
Continue? The game asked.
The lord of undead shut the game system off and made quick preparations for departure.
STEEL RE-REVOLUTION
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Author's Notes:
Welcome to Steel Re-Revolution, the second reboot of Steel Revolution and also the (technically) true successor to Steel Revolution (Old!), which is soon going to be labeled Steel Revolution (Oldest!) lol
The purpose for the second reboot is to get back on track of what made the old Steel Revolution good and improve it! I am not expecting its story to be as venturous as the first reboot, but ultimately, it is definitely going to re-achieve its original comedy factor once more. This also means that the lore for this thing will also be very random and mix-matchy with Riot's actual lore.
With that said… some of you may have a lot of questions. And that's okay, because I literally rebooted this story twice now. But this will almost surely be the final reboot, as I feel confident in improve in both writing and comedy!
Now, we just need to hope that my new chapter ideas will actually make you happy.